Secretary General underlines NATO’s strategic interest in the security of all ICI partner countries

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid his first official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain on 7 and 8 March 2010, where he held bilateral meetings with King Ahmad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa and General Shaikh Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force.

Speaking in Manama at a public diplomacy dinner event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain and the recently established Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, the Secretary General said: “Why is our partnership so important? In a nutshell, because NATO and ICI countries face common security challenges and threats – challenges and threats, such as failed states, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy and energy security.

These are all security issues that cannot be successfully tackled by any one country alone – they require a multilateral and cooperative approach to security, including through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative. Therefore it is clear that the security of Bahrain, and of all our ICI partner countries, is of strategic interest to NATO.”